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grandrobert.bsky.social
Tall Rob
@grandrobert.bsky.social
240 followers 150 following 950 posts
Blog: https://thetallrobreport.blogspot.com/

Tesla Takedown Northbrook zines: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eDqHdqHSWMnS7dJLFTSIG-fIrgbq-C4U
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grandrobert.bsky.social
Tall Rob @grandrobert.bsky.social · Feb 4
Please let me know if you have any of these zines or recordings.
We can work out a trade.
Want List (digital copies are fine) -footage of The A-TEAM’s last show (2003/12/06) -footage of MUNICIPAL WASTE’s “Waste ‘em All” record release show (2003/02/08) -footage of KILLED IN ACTION’s gig in Palos Heights (2002/08/04) -Behind the Times, issues #1 and #2 -Killer Man, issue #1 -Breakout, issues #1.5 and #2 -Quick, all issues -Disgruntled Goat, all issues -Hey Soundguy, issue #1 -The Big Hurt, issue #1 -DANNY and The KETCHUPS CD
grandrobert.bsky.social
Busy couple of days, so this week’s blog post is a review of Michael Azerrad’s The Amplified Come As You Are: The Story of NIRVANA. It’s from a zine I did from 2021-2024.

It’s a 2023 reissue of his 1993 book about Cobain et al. The new liner notes are about as long as the original text.
The Annotated Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana Michael Azerrad (HarperOne, 2023)
Although you and I might be familiar with the main beats of the NIRVANA story, we can still learn from this version of the book because...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:25 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Talked to a friend tonight about #allherfault and she mentioned how it reminded her of Ordinary People because it shows people from the North Shore trying to maintain a facade of perfection when their inner worlds / families are crumbling. Right on!

More of my thoughts on the Peacock series here:
All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher, Peacock, 2025)
When a young adolescent plays contact or collision sports, there is a risk of serious injury or death. Boys playing middle school footb...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Reposted by Tall Rob
grandrobert.bsky.social
Couple quick thoughts on #allherfault that I couldn’t find a spot for in my review:

1) No one owns pets; their homes are too nice for animals.

2) Everyone has ringtones. They all seem more sociopathic as a result.
All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher, Peacock, 2025)
When a young adolescent plays contact or collision sports, there is a risk of serious injury or death. Boys playing middle school footb...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Friend of mine is in that area tonight and this sounds very on brand for them to have knocked over a delivery robot like this…
cailin.gay cailin @cailin.gay · 6d
Most Reddit post I have ever seen in my entire life, written by the whitest person on the western hemisphere
To the delivery-bot tipper at Milwaukee and Western tonight: That was a dick move. Me: the lady on a bike waiting for the northbound light to change on Milwaukee at Western. You: the jerk who saw the delivery bot attempting to cross Milwaukee and decided to tip it over in the middle of the intersection and then walk away. I got off my bike and hauled the stupid bot back on its wheels not because I feel good about bots (I don't), but because your feelings of distain are not more important than the time, safety, and convenience of everyone around you. Maybe you're usually a kind and considerate person, but deliberately blocking an entire lane of traffic during evening rush hour is an asshole thing to do. Creating a big obstacle in the middle of a crosswalk is also an asshole thing to do. You didn't stick it to the delivery service by knocking Quincy on its hapless metal ass - you stuck it to your neighbors. Do better. (Mods, I don't think this breaks the community rules, but if it does, let me know and I'll take it down.)
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 AM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Couple quick thoughts on #allherfault that I couldn’t find a spot for in my review:

1) No one owns pets; their homes are too nice for animals.

2) Everyone has ringtones. They all seem more sociopathic as a result.
All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher, Peacock, 2025)
When a young adolescent plays contact or collision sports, there is a risk of serious injury or death. Boys playing middle school footb...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Tall Rob
petersokolowski.bsky.social
PUB DAY
November 18, 2025 at 7:11 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Some scattershot thoughts on #allherfault, which I hadn’t even heard about this time last week.

As a Wilmette resident* for many years, I recognized many of the well-to-do, controlling, hyper-competitive status chasing characters.

Read my spoiler-free review here:
All Her Fault (Megan Gallagher, Peacock, 2025)
When a young adolescent plays contact or collision sports, there is a risk of serious injury or death. Boys playing middle school footb...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Here’s how @teslatakedown.com Northbrook #6 turned out.

Copies I distributed today have a typo and some crashing text, both of which are fixed in these pics and the scan available in my bio. Looks like I might need more printer ink, too.
Back and front covers of TESLA TAKEDOWN NORTHBROOK #6. Back cover reads "All flourishing is mutual” Robin Wall Kimmerer The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World Front cover reads: TESLA TAKEDOWN NORTHBROOK #6 Pages 2-3 of TESLA TAKEDOWN NORTHBROOK #6 No Trillionaires The specific reason for today's protest is because Tesla's shareholders approved a one trillion dollar pay package for Musk if he is able to meet an absurd number of benchmarks. It's beside the point that he will not meet these benchmarks. The issue here is that a group of shareholders think that giving Musk $1,000,000,000,000 is reasonable. No one should have that much money. Let's remember that it is impossible to work 40-hour weeks to become a billionaire. At the rate of $15 per hour, it would take 26,709 years to do so. Multiply that value by 1,000 to see how long it would take to work yourself into trillionaire status. When because of government policies, the set of values that allows one thoroughly mediocre man to potentially become a trillionaire must be jettisoned. We are here today to envision a different future, one without extreme wealth as a marker of success. No Al in Schools A couple weeks ago, I spoke at my local school district's board meeting because the district's technology department had recently released guidelines for teachers' and students' use of artificial intelligence. There is no place for Al in the classroom (or most anywhere else. Here are my comments. There are a number of reasons in general to avoid using generative AL. A quick review of news reports and empirical research on the topic reveals a few troubling issues that cannot be sidestepped through usage guidelines, no matter how well-intentioned. Here are a few of those issues: Environmental Concerns: Data centers that power Al use immense amounts of water and electricity. The International Energy Agency reports that a request made with ChatGPT will use ten times as much water as a typical Google search due to the demands of the data centers that help to power the searches. Pages 4-5 of TESLA TAKEDOWN NORTHBROOK #6 Intellectual Property: The data these products are trained on are stolen. Specifically, Meta used a dataset known as LibGen to obtain 81.7 Terabytes of data for its training. In previous cases, usage of 0.008 percent of that much data resulted in criminal investigations. Labor Impacts: Content moderators that work as contractors for major tech companies are subjected to 10-hour days of reviewing text and videos of child abuse, human mutilation, racist attacks, animal abuse, and sexual exploitation and making sure such content does not make it into the product. Electricity costs: Data centers caused increases in electric bills across the east coast and midwest this summer, usually to the tune of S10-25 dollars per customer per month. Mental health: Gov. Pritzker signed a bill into law in August regarding the use of Al as a therapist. Mental health providers cannot use these products to interact with clients, create treatment plans, or make therapeutic decisions. This is the case because there have been at least two known cases where teenagers have ended their lives after consulting with generative Al chatbots for extended amounts of time. Specifically to the district's guidance, the section on using Al ethically and responsibly is confusing. It explains that "Al-generated content may not always be neutral or objective" that "Al can sometimes generate incorrect or misleading information," and that it can "make mistakes or misinterpret information." There are libraries full of information that has been vetted for accuracy, bias, and correctness. There is no reason that students should use a product that is biased, misinformed, or incorrect. Musk openly tinkers with Grok, the Al agent on X/Twitter, to make it align with his limited worldview. It's a clear case of algorithmic manipulation that reveals the human hands behind the supposed neutral magic of AL. If Musk likes Al because he sees how it is useful for social… Pages 6-7 of TESLA TAKEDOWN NORTHBROOK #6 No More Cars The November 6th episode of the podcast lech Wont Save Us featured the hosts of the podcast The War on Cars, Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon. They're the authors of the recently released book Life After Cars. Throughout the episode, the host and guests discussed many ways that the car-centric culture of the U.S. has negatively affected how we see other humans. Cars make us adversarial toward each other because we're all going in the same direction and tighting for the same space, the Superman of the early comic book era fought the murderous scourge of reckless driving before facing off against supervillains, and living on a busy street has had an effect on social isolation even before smartphones and social medią existed. Til admit to thinking that electric cars used to seem like the best solution to carbon emissions. As this podcast episode among many other sources) indicates, replacing gas cars with electric cars doesn't take away the adversarial nature of driving, the number of traffic fatalities, or the isolation of driving alone. Buses and trains would make so much more sense. We need new infrastructure to support this future. It does not include Tesla. Nor does it include Rivian or.: Lucid or Polestar or any existing company with an electric option. TALL ROB keep your hands out of my pockets, you thief! -ARI KATZ
November 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Once again, we can see that the Tesla Service vehicle is a Ford Sprinter van.

Cybertrucks must not have good hauling capacity or storage options.
A Ford Transit van with TESLA SERVICE written on its door. It’s pulling in to Tesla’s Northbrook dealership.
November 15, 2025 at 6:23 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Heading out now with TTN#6 in hand.
Copies of the zine Tesla Takedown Northbrook, issue #6
November 15, 2025 at 5:47 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
If you're in or around the northern Chicago suburbs, join us at today's #teslatakedown Northbrook.

We're focused on the #notrillionaires message stated below.

I'll have issue #6 of the zine "Tesla Takedown Northbrook" to distribute.

TODAY
12PM-2PM
1200 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062
November 15, 2025 at 2:09 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
It’s one of those days where waking up to read the news is infuriating and baffling in ways that take my words away, so I become a jaded, know-it-all teenager. I thought this feeling would pass now that I’m in my 40s.
Lifetime-(The Gym) Is Neutral Territory
YouTube video by countdownbyfives
m.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Tall Rob
grandrobert.bsky.social
Here’s a link for this weekend’s #notrillionaires #teslatakedown Northbrook protest.

Join us!

12PM-2PM
1200 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook IL 60062

@teslatakedown.com
@indevanston.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 1:35 AM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Here’s a link for this weekend’s #notrillionaires #teslatakedown Northbrook protest.

Join us!

12PM-2PM
1200 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook IL 60062

@teslatakedown.com
@indevanston.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 1:35 AM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Happy Belated Birthday, Cecil!

I took up the offer to borrow one of these books a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Read my review of Shifting Earth at this week’s installment of The Tall Rob Report:
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
For some reason, the Action Network site is being fussy with letting me log in to make an event.

Nevertheless, #teslatakedown Northbrook returns this Saturday as part of the No Trillionaires Day of Action.

Sat., Nov. 15th
12PM-2PM
1200 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062

@teslatakedown.com
Flyer for Tesla Takedown Northbrook Saturday, Nov. 15th, 2025 Tesla Takedown Northbrook 12PM-2PM 1200 Skokie Blvd Northbrook IL 60062 NO TRILLIONAIRES Elon isn't just an American problem, he's a global problem. He's calling "for violent uprising" in Britain Pushing for a "global neo-Nazi regime change" Funneling money into elections everywhere he can And his assault on USAID has already killed an estimated 400,000 children Text MUSK to 51905 to join the fight! Go to TeslaTakedown.com to learn more! flyer by TALL ROB
November 11, 2025 at 2:49 AM
grandrobert.bsky.social
It was only vaguely clear the night I took the video below that there would be a whole new PULP album less than a year later.

Here's my review of "More." from last week's edition of The Tall Rob Report:
November 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Excellent, wide-ranging episode on the various negative effects cars have had on humans and cities. I loved hearing about Superman’s hatred of reckless drivers in the early days of the comic. Vehicular homicide is a greater evil than any supervillain.
techwontsave.us Tech Won’t Save Us @techwontsave.us · 19d
Tech companies have plenty of bad ideas they say will improve transportation — but the car remains a menace.

@brooklynspoke.bsky.social and @sgoodyear.bsky.social join @parismarx.com to discuss the many ways cars harm society and why that must change.

Full ep: techwontsave.us/episode/301_...
November 7, 2025 at 6:47 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Hey so I finally got around to listening to and writing about the PULP album from earlier this year. It’s called “More.” and it’s pretty damn good.

PULP “More”
more PULP.
some PULP.
“Some [pulp].”
grandrobert.bsky.social Tall Rob @grandrobert.bsky.social · Sep 4
Excited to finally listen to these later today. We heard “Spike Island” at PULP’s Aragon show last year, but had no idea an album would eventually result. High hopes…
Photo of PULP More LP and PULP “Spike Island” b/w “Open Strings” single
November 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
Leaf blowers used to annoy me because of the sound.

Now they fill me with dread because their sound might draw attention from ICE goons who think nothing of brutalizing landscapers.
November 1, 2025 at 3:12 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
It’s all Newsome this, Pritzker that.

I’ll tell you what I want.

I WANT OUT
HELLOWEEN’S “I Want Out” 12” on blue vinyl. It’s a pumpkin headed Uncle Sam saying “I want out”
October 31, 2025 at 12:47 PM
grandrobert.bsky.social
A colleague just used “you didn’t hear this from me” a few minutes ago so I feel obliged to repost my review of @mckinneykelsey.bsky.social‘s book of that name.

In the book, McKinney describes her younger self: I wasn’t just precocious; I could spell ‘precocious’.

Still true! It’s a smart book!
grandrobert.bsky.social Tall Rob @grandrobert.bsky.social · 29d
@mckinneykelsey.bsky.social’s “You Didn’t Hear This from Me” is a delightful & informative book on the importance & utility of gossip for shaping our shared reality.

Read my review of it (including an unexpected lesson on the Dewey Decimal System) in this week’s entry of The Tall Rob Report:

(1/3)
You Didn’t Hear This from Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip (Kelsey McKinney, Grand Central, 2025)
Spend enough time in the library stacks and you’ll begin to absorb the organizing principles of the Dewey Decimal System. Reading a his...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Tall Rob
grandrobert.bsky.social
This filing choice does seem of a piece with Dewey’s perspective on the world, though. At least, according to what I know from this utterly devastating Judith Flanders’ footnote in her book “A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order.”
Photo of footnote text from p. 217 of Judith Flanders’ “A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order” *While all systems are inevitably biased, making more space for some elements and overlooking others, Dewey's was particularly so, and has proved troublesome in the modern world. Being based on Baconian hierarchies, it is predisposed to an Anglo-centric worldview. More, it is almost laughably Christian-centric: religion, allocated the 2o0s in Dewey's system, sees 200-289 devoted to Christianity, while all of Islam is contained in just 297. Women, meanwhile, are patronizingly categorized alongside etiquette. (Dewey himself had chronic woman trouble, or, rather, women had chronic trouble with Dewey: he was forced to resign from the American Library Association after no fewer than four women complained that he had assaulted them in a single ten-day period in 1905. He was, in addition, a notable anti-Semite and racist, even for those notably anti-Semitic and racist times, also being requested to stand down from his position as librarian for New York State owing to his endorsement of clubs that operated on Christian-whites-only policies.)
October 28, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Tall Rob
grandrobert.bsky.social
In my review, I mention how I noticed McKinney’s book was filed under 296.3 at the library where I checked it out. This is a section on Judaism, specifically “Theology, ethics, views of social issues.” This choice baffles me and has some awful implications…

(2/3)
Tall Rob holding a library copy of Kelsey McKinney’s You Didn’t Hear this from Me with Dewey decimal system code 296.3 on its spine Screenshot of text from The Tall Rob Report: What's relevant about Flanders' footnote with regard to Mckinney's book is that my local-ish library (and maybe yours, too) has classified it in the 200s, which means it is considered a text about Religion. According to the Dewey Decimal System, 296 is reserved for texts on Judaism. More specifically, the number 296.3 is a subsection titled "Theology, ethics, views of social issues." What the fuck? Like, what the actual fuck? Does this library branch think that only practitioners of Judaism have an ability to or an interest in gossip? Or that gossiping is the sole purview of members of the Jewish faith? Flanders' commentary makes it plain that Dewey was antisemitic. Guess that goes for a few librarians using his system in 2025, too.
October 28, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Tall Rob
grandrobert.bsky.social
@mckinneykelsey.bsky.social’s “You Didn’t Hear This from Me” is a delightful & informative book on the importance & utility of gossip for shaping our shared reality.

Read my review of it (including an unexpected lesson on the Dewey Decimal System) in this week’s entry of The Tall Rob Report:

(1/3)
You Didn’t Hear This from Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip (Kelsey McKinney, Grand Central, 2025)
Spend enough time in the library stacks and you’ll begin to absorb the organizing principles of the Dewey Decimal System. Reading a his...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM